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T. Allan Hillman

T. Allan Hillman

Associate Professor of Philosophy
Early Modern Philosophy, Metaphysics, Leibniz

Research Interests

  • Early Modern Philosophy
  • Metaphysics
  • History of Philosophy [esp. Medieval, Early Analytic]
  • Ethics
  • Philosophy of Religion

Bio

My research interests for years have focused on the work of G.W. Leibniz, though currently I’ve chronologically retreated to the Medievals, particularly the metaphysics and value theory of John Duns Scotus. Born in southern Mississippi, I attended MSMS in Columbus, MS, followed by Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Upon deciding I wanted to make a career in Philosophy, I pursued advanced degrees at Ole Miss (M.A.) and then Purdue University (Ph.D.). I regularly teach Introduction to Philosophy (PHL 110), Renaissance-Enlightenment Philosophy (PHL 245), and Metaphysics (PHL 461), though I like to make my course offerings from year to year as varied as allowable. When not engaged with life at South, I work with my father on his blueberry farm in Mississippi, read avidly (mostly History, Science Fiction, and Classical Literature), and feed my addiction to college football (Hotty Toddy!).

Publications

  • Scotus & God’s Arbitrary Will: A Reassessment,” (co-authored with Dr. Tully Borland) American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, 91 (3); 2017.

  • “Faulkner the Stoic: Honor and the Snopeses in The Snopes Trilogy,” Philosophy & Literature, 39 (1A); September 2015, 260-279.

  • “Leibniz and Luther on the Non-Cognitive Component of Faith,” Sophia 52 (2): June 2013, pp. 219-234.

  • “Leibniz and the Imitation of God: A Criticism of Voluntarism” (co-authored with Dr. Tully Borland), Philosophy & Theology 23(1); 2011, pp. 3-27.

  • “Leibniz on the Imago Dei” in Oxford Studies in Early Modern Philosophy Volume V (eds.) Daniel Garber & Steven Nadler (Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 171-213

Courses

  • College of Arts & Science 100: The Moral Reality of War (Fall 2014)
  • REL 100 Introduction to the Study of Religion (Online)
  • Philosophy 110: Introduction to Philosophy (Every semester)
  • Philosophy 131: Introduction to Ethics (Summer 2010, Fall 2013)
  • Philosophy 245: Renaissance-Enlightenment Philosophy (Spring only: 2009-15)
  • Philosophy 333: Biomedical Ethics (Spring 2014)
  • PHL/CJ 336 Legal Theory (Spring 2017)
  • PHL/CJ 337 Liability & Punishment (Fall 2016)
  • Philosophy 345: Post-Kantian Anglo-American Philosophy (Fall 2014)
  • Philosophy 351: Philosophy of Religion (Fall 2009, Fall 2012)
  • Philosophy 390: Special Topics – Truth (Spring 2010)
  • Philosophy 390 (Honors): Special Topics – Goodness and the Ultimate
    Nature of Reality in Medieval Philosophy (Fall 2011)
  • Philosophy 390: Special Topics – Existentialism & the Philosophy of
    Literature (Summer 2013, Fall 2014)
  • Philosophy 431: Advanced Ethics – Metaethics (Fall 2008)
  • Philosophy 431: Advanced Ethics – Contemporary Political Philosophy (Fall 2011, Fall 2013)
  • Philosophy 461: Senior Seminar – Metaphysics (Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017)
  • Philosophy 494: Directed Study – Religious Epistemology (Fall 2010, Spring 2015)
  • Philosophy 494: Directed Study – Free Will & Predestination in Christian Thought (Spring 2013)
  • Philosophy 494: Directed Study – Just War, Realism & Military Ethics (Fall 2014)